74% of the inhabitants of Delhi favor some type of closing of markets and non-essential shops, services to contain the spread of COVID-19
, indicates a survey conducted by the LocalCircles community forum.
The study has found that 46% of the citizens of India are in favor of some form of blockade in districts or cities that experience an increase of coronavirus cases.
It has also found that 32% of Indians support a three-week lockdown in cities with more than 1000 active cases or states with more than 10,000 active cases. 60% of the citizens of India believe that closed closures will lead to an economic setback in the short to medium term and are not worth it, while 38% say it should still be done.
In the past, the government has ruled out a national shutdown, citing that lives and livelihoods matter too, given the enormous economic consequences of such a drastic measure. Speaking to News18, Dr. Randeep Guleria, a member of the national working group on COVID-19 administration told News18 that a national lockdown is not an option. “Lives must be balanced against livelihoods. We will have to look at regional closures, local buffer zones will have to be identified.”
With almost 9 million COVID-19 cases to date, and new emerging hot spots like Delhi-NCR, India ranks second, just behind the US with 11 million cases. The situation is grim in Delhi, where the Center has had to step in once again to control the massive surge. The Delhi government has expressed concern over hotspots such as popular markets. Sources within the government say the Health Ministry has been particularly concerned about a high rate of positivity in colonies near markets such as Laxmi Nagar in east Delhi.
Unlocking 5.0 is currently being implemented by the Government of India, which has allowed most of the services and activities of the economy to function.
Although the diary COVID-19 The number of cases nationwide is shrinking, states like Delhi are seeing a major increase, with 7,000-8,000 cases reported every day since October. The positivity rate for the national capital is 15 percent, more than double the cumulative national average of 7 percent.
The growing number of coronavirus Cases in Delhi has put enormous pressure on hospitals to provide ICU beds with ventilators to patients.
The survey was conducted to understand what citizens want in terms of closure measures and to what extent they think it will help. With a special focus on Delhi, he asked the citizens of the city if they would support the closure or closure of markets or non-essential shops or services to contain the spread of COVID-19 cases. The survey received more than 20,000 responses from 241 districts in India. The Delhi specific question in the survey received over 10,000 responses from city residents.
The survey also sought to know the response of indigenous people in general about anti-Covid measures. 51% said they are completely against any kind of lockdown. However, they want the government to increase testing, screening and isolation of Covid-positive patients, while 46% of citizens said they are in favor of some sort of post-lockdown festivals to contain the spread of COVID-19.
The survey sought to understand citizens’ views on the economic implications if India were to shut down. 7,227 responses were received to the question, of which 60% of citizens believe that confinement of any kind, national, state or local, will lead to short or medium term setbacks and is not worth it. 38% said that although the lockdown will lead to a short-term economic setback, it is worth moving forward to contain COVID-19
Globally, Delhi is now among the top 3 cities in the world in terms of daily case load.
With the markets crowding and socializing during Diwali, administrators expect the number of daily cases to rise to the 10,000-15,000 range in the coming weeks. The union health ministry has said it believes cases will increase in the next two weeks.
“We believe that the real impact of the elections in some states and the festivals that have passed will be felt this week and next in terms of the increase in cases,” Rakesh Bhushan, union health secretary, told a news conference. on Tuesday.
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